This U.S. flag is the last automobile flag used by the Limousine of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
This flag was removed from the Presidential Limousine in Warm Springs, Georgia shortly after the death of FDR by aide United States Marine Corps (USMC) Captain Lawrence Peyton Harris. Presidential automobile flags were first used by President Wilson during his visit to Versailles after the First World War and have been used by every President ever since.
They are a smaller version of the Presidential Color, often executed in bunting and without fringe they mark a vehicle carrying the American President. Unlike Royal standards, which signify the presence of a royal personage, presidential flags recognize an office holder.
This small bunting flag was made at the Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot out of wool bunting with cotton appliqué and stitching, with additional detail on the olive branch painted by hand.
Captain Harris was a decorated veteran of the War in the Pacific where he had been awarded the Silver Star for valor. He served as a commissioned aide to President Roosevelt and was with the presidential party in Warn Springs and accompanied the remains back to the White House. He remained in the USMC after the war eventually attaining the grade of colonel. The flag was acquired from the Harris family via Heritage Auction Galleries, Dallas, Texas.
ZFC Significant Flag
Provenance:
• Made by Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot.
• Used by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1945.
• Removed from Presidential Limousine by Capt. L. Peyton Harris, USMC, April, 1945.
• Retained by Captain Harris until passing, 2009
• Gifted to his son L. Peyton Harris, Jr. of Newport News, Virginia, 2009.
• Sold via Heritage Auctions of Dallas, Texas to Zaricor Flag Collection, 2009.
Deaccessed at auction via Bonham's, 11 February 2024, Auction #BOK24011NY, - 29456, LOT #57
Sources:
Flag of the President of the United States, Wikipedia, 25 October 2011, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_the_President_of_the_United_States
Patterson, Richard, Richardson Dougall, The Eagle and The Shield, Department of State, Washington, 1976.
History of the President's Flag, Sea Flags, 1 October 2011, from: http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeohzt4/Seaflags/personal/potus.html#top
Lawrence Peyton Harris, Obituary, Daily Progress on June 19, 2009, 25 October 2011, from: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dailyprogress/obituary.aspx?n=lawrence-peyton-harris&pid=128607913&fhid=5773
Lawrence Peyton Harris, Obituary, The Virginian Pilot on June 19, 2009, 25 October 2011, from: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/pilotonline/obituary.aspx?n=lawrence-peyton-harris&pid=128608907&fhid=5773
Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection
Top100
ZFCPOTUS
